Sertoma, CW, Nov & Dec, 2012

Watercolor expressive under painting.  I wet the paper and added light versions of 3 colors (I used perm. rose, viridian, aureolin) allowing them to flow as well as splattering and adding 'blossoms' with water as well.

Watercolor value study (grisaille) under painting.  I first wet the background and painted it with values of neutralized red (red with a little green).  I added salt for texture (add salt when the paper is wet - shiny but not a puddle).  Next I used the same red to paint the flower paying attention to the values (lights and darks).  I painted some petals by wetting the petal first and adding the color and value.  On some I painted the petal dry adding a dark and pulling the color and value with a wet/damp brush.  You can adjust the values with additional layers of the red as needed.  Next, I glazed green (a mix of cobalt, aurolin, and water) over the red background and added a few areas of the aureolin and cobalt too.  The bottom right shows where I added more salt after the green was added (if you need more texture)